HBO drops new clip from Animals ahead of today’s streaming premiere

The days when a cable subscription was your only option for getting your Game of Thrones fix are gone. HBO is embracing streaming these days, and with its upcoming series Animals, it’s actually encouraging users to watch the show via its streaming services instead of cable.

The show, an adult-themed animated series set in New York City, is set to premiere February 5. That’s still the case if you plan on watching the show on cable, but the series debuts a day early, on February 4, for those watching it via HBO Now or HBO Go, as Exstreamist recently reported. That’s not all, either.

“The series premiere will be available to stream Thursday, February 4, with subsequent episodes available to stream the following Thursdays ahead of their Friday night debuts on HBO,” the company announced in a statement. “HBO’s linear subscribers will also be able to watch the series one day early each week via HBO On Demand.”

Could this be the first in a long line of early premieres on the network’s streaming apps? It’s too early to call, but considering the early buzz that Animals is generating, this is an interesting move on HBO’s part. If nothing else, this shows that HBO considers its streaming apps first-class aspects of the network, rather than simply an attempt to curb piracy from those without cable subscriptions.

As the name hints, Animals focuses on those residents of New York that aren’t human — horses, pigeons, and mice are all represented. The show stars Ben Schwartz, Kumail Nanijiani, Marc Maron, Matt Walsh, and Nick Kroll, and will feature a wide array of guest stars.

“Whether it’s lovelorn rats, gender-questioning pigeons or aging bedbugs in the midst of a midlife crisis, the awkward small talk, moral ambiguity and existential woes of non-human urbanites prove startlingly similar to our own,” the official synopsis for the show reads.

If the description leaves you curious, or you simply don’t know how you can make it another day until the show’s debut, check out the series on HBO Now or HBO Go.

Updated 2/4/16 by Stephanie Topacio Long: This post has been updated to reflect the premiere of the show on HBO’s streaming platforms as well as include a new clip.